Preparations

Gather trading cards as samples and make some overheads of coins including commemorative coins to give your students some ideas.

Create a grading rubric based on the elements required in the Steps section. Make copies or post for the students' reference.

Brainstorm with students the different types of trading cards they are familiar with.

Make a list with the class of the common elements on all trading cards such as pictures, facts, statistics, etc.

Explain to the students that they will be making trading cards based on U.S. coins. Show example overheads of coins including commemorative coins (if you made them) to give your students some ideas.

Have each student pick one coin and create a trading card based on that coin. The coin must have a person or event depicted on one of the sides. Students can work in teams to research the coins using the U.S. Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ Web site, other coin websites and books about coins.

Distribute the pre-cut tag board. Students can create the drawings on paper and write the information on the computer and then glue this onto the tag board trading card. Each card should include the following:

Pictures of the obverse and reverse of the coin

Description of all the elements on both sides of the coin

Mint dates and mint location

Face value of the coin

Description and history of the person or event depicted on the coin

Interesting facts about the coin

Differentiated Learning Options

Assign a coin and provide a printout of its information.

Enrichments/Extensions

Have students determine different “values” for the trading cards, make additional cards, then trade and make up games for using their trading cards.

Use the rubric to evaluate the trading cards for achievement of the lesson objectives.

enable learners to identify, describe, and examine both current and historical examples of the interaction and interdependence of science, technology, and society in a variety of cultural settings

provide opportunities for learners to make judgments about how science and technology have transformed the physical world and human society and our understanding of time, space, place, and human-environment interactions

have learners analyze the way in which science and technology influence core societal values, beliefs, and attitudes and how societal attitudes influence scientific and technological endeavors

prompt learners to evaluate various policies proposed to deal with social changes resulting from new technologies

help learners to identify and interpret various perspectives about human societies and the physical world using scientific knowledge, technologies, and an understanding of ethical standards of this and other cultures